An uninsured Shawnee resident just watched her medication’s cost plummet from $850 to $5. That cost savings, she said, is thanks to the help of a new nonprofit organization’s pharmacy, called Pharmacy of Grace, whose leaders hope to support others in the same way.
On Wednesday, the Kansas City, Kansas-based Pharmacy of Grace held a ribbon-cutting celebration for its Shawnee location at 11644 W. 75th St., inside the same building that houses Mercy & Truth Healthcare Ministry, a faith-based clinic it works with to deliver medications to those in need.
The pharmacy is able to offer discounted medication acquired through several sources, including donated medications from the Nashville-based nonprofit organization Dispensary of Hope; a government program that works with Mercy & Truth Ministry that gives them access to discounted medication; discount cards for new medication; and discounted cash prices for generic medication.
While Johnson County is often viewed as affluent, co-founder John Yost said the amount of uninsured people in the area shows there is a need.
“There’s more uninsured people in Johnson County than even Wyandotte County, where our first location is,” he said. “Right around here, within walking distance, there’s about 2,000 people that are uninsured. To give you an idea, last year in Kansas City we served less than 2,000 people total.”
One of the pharmacy’s customers, Kerri Neighbors, of Shawnee, said that after her losing her job and insurance, she wasn’t sure where to turn to for medication.
“I would not be alive today if it wasn’t for them because I couldn’t afford my medicines — $600 (and) $800 — and we’re talking about one to two meds,” she said.
In one instance, Neighbors saw medication that she was charged $850 for at a pharmacy get reduced to $5 at Pharmacy of Grace.
“They have been a godsend. They have been a blessing,” she said.
Pharmacy of Grace is about caring for the community
Pharmacists at Pharmacy of Grace, like Yost and Pharmacist-in-Charge Brandon Powers, have worked at corporate pharmacies and medical centers and have witnessed the struggles people face when it comes to paying for medication.
“I always like to say ‘When you come out of school, you think you’re going to change the world and help everybody health care-wise.’ You quickly learn that that’s actually a business,” Powers said. “This gets us back to basically what we thought we’re going to do when we get out of school: Basically taking care of the patient.”
The pharmacy accepts people of all different financial statuses, whether they have insurance and need a prescription filled, are under-insured or have no insurance and need affordable medication.
Beyond giving people access to medication, Yost said they want to have a personal touch with everything they do.
“(Our team is) spending time with them, which unfortunately, most people don’t get that with medications. Usually, you don’t talk to a pharmacist, but here you always talk to a pharmacist,” Yost said.
City leaders praise Pharmacy of Grace
At the ribbon-cutting ceremony, several Shawnee city leaders, including Mayor Mickey Sandifer and Shawnee Chamber of Commerce CEO Ann Smith-Tate spoke about how much Pharmacy of Grace was needed in the area.
Thinking back to when he was caring for his late wife, Dona, who died in 2018, Sandifer remembered the importance of medication in her life.
“She had drugs that, if she could not take these particular drugs, she would have died, and so, I know the importance of the medications … and how many people actually need them. And this is a life-and-death situation with a life-saving organization here,” he said.
While praising the growth of the city, Smith-Tate also noted that it’s important to make sure all residents are cared for, which is what the pharmacy does.
“The future for our community is very bright. We know, too, that it cannot be successful, and we cannot move forward, if we are not caring for everybody in our community. So it is such a blessing to have organizations like Pharmacy of Grace,” she said.
The Pharmacy of Grace still needs help
The pharmacy’s construction, staff and opening were funded through donations from its Expanding Medication Access for Healthier Lives Campaign.
It will continue to run through donations, its Monthly Meds club and revenue generated from medication sales for people that don’t need discount medication.
“Another way you can support us is bring in your prescriptions here if you have insurance. So that’ll help us, and you’ll get the same service, but it’ll be different than any other pharmacy you walk into,” he said.
In addition to all of those methods of funding, Sandifer also announced that this year’s Christmas Tree Fund will be split between Pharmacy of Grace and Mercy of Truth.
“Like I said, this is life and death. And so many people I don’t think believe that or see that. It takes everybody to make it happen,” he said.
Pharmacy of Grace is open 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. Monday – Friday and closed from 12:30 to 1 p.m. for lunch.
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